Ideas for lentils?

[pennyplainknits]

I bought a bag of lentils- just the ordinary red split lentils, not puy lentils- a few months ago thinking I might need to make a veggie Shepard's pie for a house guest. I didn't, and now I have a bag of lentils sitting in my pantry I have no idea what to do with.

I've only ever had them as part of a stew before now. Any ideas? I can't eat tomato or cheese

Comments

[green]

lentil tacos and burritos are OM NOM NOM. There are recipes online but I just use regular taco mix you buy in the store.

[linaelyn]

I've enjoyed this spicy lentil dip. I don't think I've ever done the spices the same, twice, though. It's highly modifiable.

[pennyplainknits]

Thank you!

[selenay]

That one sounds delicious - I've bookmarked it for future nomming.

[rydra_wong]

Do you have any berbere spice mix around? It goes beautifully with red lentils.

*digs up my notes from the last time I cooked this*

Pre-cook your lentils, then once they're done, saute some onion in a bit of oil (I use olive but any vegetable oil should do), add a couple of minced cloves of garlic and 2-3 tsp of berbere, cook them for a minute or two more, then add some water, 2 more tbsp oil and the cooked lentils, and stir the whole thing for 5-10 more minutes.

Depending on the amount of water you choose to add, you can end up with a thick stew or a sort of mash/paste which is excellent spread on crispbread or crackers.

[pennyplainknits]

I'm not familiar with berbere at all, I will look out for it!

[rydra_wong]

It's a traditional Ethiopian spice mix -- if you're not familiar with it, be aware that too much* can have a sinus-blasting effect!

{*Or the right amount, depending on your preferences.}

[moonbathe_skin]

You can substitute mince with lentils and make soups and stews. I boil mine for around 15 mins, drain and then add to other ingredients.

[jaythenerdkid]

My mother makes a delicious lentil soup (not a stew, it's much thinner) that's one of my favourite comfort foods. I'll ask her for the recipe and get back to you. :)

[twistedchick]

I second the lentil soup, which can potentially be made with any sort of lentils (though not so well with the black French lentils as with green or red ones, IME.)

[jaythenerdkid]

Haven't tried it with anything but red lentils, myself. I usually get my mum to make it for me when I want something warm and comforting to eat. It's quite thin, but surprisingly filling (which I guess is the good thing about lentils). My mum makes it mostly salty, but my dad's variation has a lot of chilli in it. I prefer the salty one myself, because I don't really like spicy foods.

[twistedchick]

I do a modification of Julia Child's lentil soup recipe -- chicken broth base, lentils, potatoes, leftover chicken or ham or whatever else is around.

[jaythenerdkid]

Ah, I see. My mum's is more like the Turkish recipe mentioned downthread - lentils, tomato paste, some onion, spices and salt, and that's pretty much it. I don't know the exact recipe, though, so it's possible that my mother puts things in it that I don't know about.

[pennyplainknits]

Thank you! I cook a lot of soup as it's so useful to take to work for lunch

[acelightning]

My son likes to make an enormous, many-course feast for his friends and family at the winter holidays. Several of his friends are vegetarians, and he always comes up with interesting things for them to eat (and he always makes enough for the omnivores to have some too). Last year he got a couple of yellow squashes (possibly butternut?) and scooped out the seeds, then made a stuffing with red lentils and did baked stuffed squash. It looked really lovely, too, with the orange-red stuffing against the deep yellow of the squash.

I'm not totally sure what he put in it, but I know it included chopped red onions and some garlic (sauteed in butter), a bit of Thai red curry paste, and red wine. There might also have been very finely chopped nuts of some sort, and probably egg to hold it together. (I don't know for sure what was in it because I couldn't eat it; I'm violently allergic to onions and garlic.)

[merrycaepa]

Oh man! My favorite soup in the world: mercimek corbasi - Turkish for 'lentil soup.' It's a wintertime staple - we're talking at least once a week when I lived in Istanbul, and it is delicious and ridiculously simple. There are a gazillion variations; a lot call for tomato paste but I don't consider it remotely necessary (pretty sure my host mom didn't use it), and in fact I tracked down a recipe that doesn't need it.

(warning: irritating musical ads)

http://en.petitchef.com/recipes/kirmizi-mercimek-corbasi-fid-424091

[merrycaepa]

...I do not know why the above was posted as a response? Self!fail. Oops.

[jaythenerdkid]

Hey, I think that's the lentil soup I was talking about in my comment! (My mum's Turkish.) Her variation is a little different and does use tomato paste, but it's pretty much the same deal.

[merrycaepa]

So. Amazingly. Good. I wish I had some right now... And you're right, there's variation all over the place; I had five host families and it was different with every one.

[jaythenerdkid]

I love my mother's version - it's beautiful and warms you up in lots of ways and just exactly what I need to cheer me up after a long day. It's one of my favourite dishes. :) I always ladle myself a huge bowl and end up practically inhaling it, I love it so much!

[merrycaepa]

Mercimek corbasi and pilav...They go so well together and I could eat them both forever :)

[pennyplainknits]

That looks really good! I suppose you could make it with chicken or ham stock instead of beef stock?

[merrycaepa]

Actually, I'm pretty sure that it was always made with chicken stock when I had it in Istanbul, and my Dad's made it with vegetable stock for vegetarian friends hereabouts...so yes, I'd imagine so :)

[pennyplainknits]

Thank you, I'll see if I can find a recipe to adapt- that sounds yummy, and one of my closest friends is vegan, so it's good to find recipes we can both eat

[acelightning]

Obviously, to make a vegan dish, you'd sautee things in olive oil, not butter, and I don't know what you'd use to bind it in place of egg. The main things I remember are the red onion and red wine, both of which were chosen to accentuate the reddish color of the lentils.

I just talked to my son on the phone:
Cut the squash in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds and goop in the middle, brush the flesh all over with the oil, and bake, cut side down, at 350° F. until just barely tender. Meanwhile, simmer the lentils in lightly salted water (or broth) plus red wine until the lentils are also tender - try to have it so that the lentils absorb all the liquid. Sautee onion, garlic, and whatever spices you like in a little oil, then add the lentils and cook everything together for a bit. Turn the squash halves over and pile lentil mixture in them. Bake some more. For extra color contrast, sprinkle some chopped scallions (green part) or chives, or chopped parsley, on top before serving.

(Lacto-ovo-vegetarian, non-vegan: add some heavy cream to the filling, and sprinkle grated cheese on top before the final baking. Omit the green garnish.)

[pauraque]

Ever had mujadarra? It's one of my favorite things to do with lentils. Recipes differ, but basically it's a lentil pilaf, you cook rice and lentils until the water is gone and top it with caramelized onions. Many recipes call for cumin, but I don't like cumin so I season it with just cinnamon and black pepper. Plain or honey-flavored Greek yogurt and cucumber are yummy with this.

[merrycaepa]

This sounds delicious... *bookmarks*

[pennyplainknits]

That looks really good! Would you have it as a side dish, or as the main part of the meal (I'm guessing you get the protein from the lentils so it's not like you need extra protein with it)

[pauraque]

I like it so much I eat it as a main dish, though I hear it's often used as a side. I did find a recipe for making it with red lentils that is supposed to avoid them getting mushy, but I haven't tried it so I couldn't say if it works.

[amalnahurriyeh]

My standard is to make a version of sambar; if you have access to a South Asian grocery you can buy sambar masala (or online here) or rasam masala--rasam is hotter but (IMHO) more delicious. And you just cool red split dal with veggies until everything collapses, then add masala. Or I just use cumin, chili, black mustard seeds, garlic, and ginger as the spices, and cook them in oil first before adding veggies, raw lentils, and water. It's a bootleg version I make, but it's tasty.

Red lentils are also good in any sort of soup because they dissolve entirely; I add them to potato-leek soup to boost the protein content, they're good with sweet potatoes or squash, basically anything. I've also cooked up daal and put it in tortillas with chaat fixings, thereby creating srs bsns fusion deliciousness.

[pennyplainknits]

I can get most South Asian spices in the supermarket- my town has a huge Indian/Pakistani/Bangladeshi community so I should be able to track the spices down pretty easily.

That's a really good idea to put it in potato and leek soup! It's one of my favourite soups, but I do worry about the protein content if that is all I have for dinner, which it sometimes is

[toft]

You can make MANY good soups with lentils! This is the way I do it. I mostly use green lentils but red lentils are fine too. You must wash them first. You don't have to soak them though, you can just throw them right in the pot. For a big saucepan of soup I'd use a cup or two depending on how thick you like your soup.

[pennyplainknits]

Thank you, that soup looks yummy!

(and much love for your Sentinel icon, I feel Blair would approve of lentils)

[toft]

Haha, yes, I forgot to use my sentinel-cooking-icon for this post!

I'm excitedly bookmarking this whole post for all the other recipes, thanks for making it!

[the_shoshanna]

Note that red lentils will disintegrate into basically mush when they're cooked; green lentils won't. So they're often useful for different things/foods/desired textures.

I just discovered an amazingly tasty thing to do with green lentils and butternut squash, very different from any way I've ever eaten lentils before, but incredibly easy and omg so yum:

Lentils with Butternut Squash and Pecans

1 small butternut squash, about 1 pound
1 large onion, or shallot
2 cloves garlic
2 - 4 Tbsp olive oil
1 - 2 Tbsp curry powder
1/2 cup pecans or walnuts
2/3 cup lentils
2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro sprigs
1 - 3 tsp lime juice

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Halve, peel, and seed the squash and cut into half-inch cubes. Toss with oil, curry powder, and salt and pepper to taste until combined well. Bake until almost tender, about 15 minutes.

Chop or thinly slice the onion or shallot and mince the garlic; saute until tender and browned. Toast the nuts, and roughly chop them if you like smaller pieces. Boil the lentils until just tender but not falling apart, about 20 minutes. Drain and transfer to a bowl. Add the squash, onion and garlic, pecans, cilantro, lime juice, and salt and pepper to taste and toss until combined well.

Good served on a grain, such as quinoa or brown rice.

All amounts are approximate or to taste. I like the lentils al dente, still with some firmness. It's prettier when freshly made, but almost as good two days later out of the fridge and reheated (the nuts lose their crispness, though). And I bet it would be good with another spice mix instead of curry powder; pick one that sounds good!

[pennyplainknits]

That looks omnomnom. I may have to buy some puy lentils to try that- the ones I have are just the little red ones, and I guess the texture wouldn't be the same.

[undomielregina]

http://events.nytimes.com/recipes/6779/2005/02/02/Turkish-Bride-Soup/recipe.html

Turkish Bride Soup. I've made it several times, since my husband's a fan. I've also made it fully vegetarian for friends who loved it. The soup shouldn't lose much of anything if you leave the tomato paste out.

[pennyplainknits]

Thank you! It seems soup is the way to go

(I will leave out the mint too- I just can't break the taste association with mint and toothpaste, and so I get weird cognitive dissonance when I find it in food)